The Return of Professor Payne
by supersalvarul
Summary: I wasn't a huge fan of how the show ended, so I re-wrote what I thought should happen. Enjoy!  Rick Payne returns from his sabbatical to find out that things in Grandview have taken a turn for the worst, and very close by may just be involved.
1. Chapter 1

"Melinda?" I yelled as I walked into her house, yes it was two in the morning but some things can't wait. The last time I had been here was the last time I ever thought I would see her. You see, Melinda is capable of things most of us wouldn't believe, and I am a skeptic myself but there is something about her that draws you in, makes you want to believe. She had gone into the underground city under Grandview, this girl drove me nuts, I thought she was dead and that's when I knew.

"In here." A groggy sounding voice called from her living room.

"Oh Melinda you just sound terrible." I laughed. She was folded in a ball on the couch; it looked like she hadn't gotten sleep in years.

"Professor Payne?" She shot up out of the couch her hair going wild with the slightest movements she made, it only made me laugh some more. How could this girl look that amazing at two in the morning? Her brown hair and slender body complimenting her night gown.

Her eyes shifted from me to the suitcase that was behind me and a smile grew on her face. A smile so bright it would take anyone's breath away. Her arms wrapped around me and her eyes began to water. That's what you have to understand about Mel, she's been through a lot, and is emotional but not more than anyone else. You'd be emotional too if you had to deal with half the stuff she puts up with.

"Yep it's me back from the dead!" I wanted to hug her longer, to have the smell linger in my nose but instead I gently shifted out of her hug and threw myself on her couch.

"That was the longest sabbatical you've ever taken…" she ran her fingers through her hair and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I didn't mean for it to be that long you know those flowers I was studying were just so interesting that I never wanted to leave." She smiled and threw a pillow at me.

I only took a sabbatical because I needed to get away from Grandview. My wife had recently died and from the grave admitted to cheating on me and, well, honestly I didn't take it very well. And then there was the time that Melinda almost got caved in the underground city that just pushed me over the edge. I have yet to tell her all the reasons I left.

"Where are you staying?" She asked, now looking more awake.

"A hotel, Hotel Allenstown possibly." I lied; I really didn't have anywhere to stay because my house was being rented out.

"Allenstown... No way stay here Jim and I insist." She smiled. Just hearing the name "Jim" made my heart drop into my stomach and my stomach fall onto the floor.

"Yeah, I don't want to impose on the happiest couple in this century. Where is Jim anyways? I just love that man…"

"We are positive though we would love to have you stay here!" She laughed, "What time is it?"

"It's about 2:15 in the morning now, why?"

"Jim is just getting out of work then; he should be home anytime soon but please stay!" she batted her eyes which, somehow, made me agree.

"Hey any good ghost stories I missed while I was off exploring the world?" I asked while helping her put sheets on the couch.

"No, shockingly it's been sort of quiet around here. Eli has been getting stronger with his gift though, it's so great to be able to help him out!" Eli…I had forgotten about him, he took over my spot when I left. He was now the new right hand man for Melinda.

"He's young. No one can beat the natural gift I have!" I flexed my muscles

"Which is what? The power of sarcasm?"

"Ouch Melinda that one will cost yah!" I through a pillow back at her then wrapped the blanket we were placing on the bed around her. She was laughing and the sound was magically filling the room, bouncing off the red walls, through the fire of the candles placed around the room and even off the pillows that spilled onto the floor.

Suddenly though she screamed, which took away all of the magic, it was an ear piercing scream like someone had just got shot. Quickly with my reflexes I reached for the blanket but it was stuck, sucked around her neck and wouldn't budge. Then the key in the door began to twist, quicker and more violent with every scream.

"Mel!" It was Jim, he threw his bag onto the stairs and ran to Melinda and the blanket flew off with ease.

"Payne? What the hell?" Jim's eyes glared into my own as he took Melinda in his arms. I backed away feeling helpless.

"Jim stop it, it wasn't Payne." She looked as white as a ghost; which was ironic because that's what was attacking her… I assumed.

"What the hell is going on?" Jim looked around, the lights were dimmed, soft music was playing in the background, the candles still flickered and there were feathers on the floor from the pillows. I guess it looked worse than it had been. The candles were already lit when I got there, that's what Mel does…she likes candles; Aroma therapy I suppose.

"Ricks back from his sabbatical, Jim." She rubbed her neck where the blanket had been

"Yeah. Uh-huh I can see that." He was tense, his shoulders rose up towards his neck and his mouth in a stiff line, and his eyes still digging flashes of glares into my eyes. "Welcome back bud." He shook my hand and smiled through gritted teeth. He squeezed my hand too hard, I won't admit it to either of them but it really hurt.

"Yeah, well I don't plan on staying that long." I picked up my suitcase. Mel's confused look changed to a frown.

I sighed. "I don't want to impose." I whispered to her pointing at Jim who was standing in the corner trying to take deep breaths. Jim turned around and looked guilty as Melinda shot him a look. In my head I was laughing hysterically but on the outside I had to appear strong and stiff with a bored expression. Your head is always the safest place for those kinds of things, especially if the man who you're laughing at wants to kill you.

Mel had her hand running along the blanket as Jim explained to her all the reasons I couldn't stay, which he thought I couldn't hear.

"First of all, the man tried to kill you with a blanket. Second of all he left you to go on some fancy trip when you needed him, not that I minded that…and I mean seriously do we want him in our house mooching off of our food, Mel we need to think about supporting ourselves right now."

Jim and Melinda were cute, as cute as any married couple could be. She was an attractive girl and he was a good looking EMT you couldn't ask for anything better in a young family and I absolutely couldn't stand it. Jim didn't know her like I did, for instance, while he stood there explaining to her all the reasons I couldn't stay she couldn't hear him I don't know if this was a good or bad thing. Melinda was in the middle of a vision he should have known that, how could he not have known. Her eyes were glazed over and her movements looked force, she wasn't looking into his eyes which wasn't like her at all…gosh Jim could be so stupid. Finally I held up my hand to motion him to shut up. His eyes flew to Melinda where mine had never left her.

"Mel? Melinda?" he started walking towards her with his arms outstretched

"Don't touch her." I said

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do, she's MY wife."

"Jim, I'm serious, she's having a vision." I warned him because that idiot would not stop walking towards her. Her movements were changing, she stopped pacing and feeling the blanket, she looked stiff as a board. She then screamed, another deafening scream like before, she was also wheezing and coughing and shaking hard. I watched wanting so badly to help, Jim felt the same only he looked like he wanted to kill me even more I mean as if this was my fault too.

"Payne, make it stop!" Jim yelled. We were now frantic normally the visions lasted about a minute or less it approaching five minutes now. Then she stopped, stopping the shaking, the wheezing and coughing. Her arms outstretched before her and flew up into the air rapidly before she fell to the ground.

"Payne? Payne?" Mel called from the ground, my heart skipped a beat. She was calling my name.

"Where's the Pain?" Jim asked. Foolish, Foolish Jim.

"Rick… Payne." She breathed and Jim let go of her arm and went into the kitchen, I took his place.

"What is it?"

"I saw it; oh I saw all of it." She croaked her eyes still closed, and she felt cold. It didn't sound like Melinda and I had a strong feeling it wasn't before I even heard her talk.

"What do you mean?" I was confused, her hand squeezed mine and then the pressure disappeared and her hand felt limp. She got to her feet and I backed up to give her, or whoever it was, room. She held her hands up to the ceiling lifting on her tip-toes and then fell, again, this time she hit the floor harder.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Jim yelled running back into the living room

"I didn't do anything! It was the vision!" I picked up the phone and called 911, looking at the tiny spot of blood that was on the hardwood floor.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's going to be okay, boys." The nurse said over and over again. We both sat there motionless head in hands. It was now two forty am and we were the only ones in the waiting room.

"This is your fault." Jim yelled when the nurse left. His eyes looked red and puffy.

"No, Jim. It's not."

"We could have helped her, I could have caught her. It all could have been prevented." He was pacing

"Prevent her visions and you prevent who she is and obviously you have a problem with who she is."

"No. I have a problem with you. Every time you're around her something horrible happens to her. You tried to strangle my wife with a blanket after just showing up at our house at two in the morning; that's what I have a problem with."

"You need to let the visions happen, they'll help her in the long run. As for the thing with the blanket, that was a ghost that did it to her."

"I'm sick of hearing how it's always a ghost. You know what I think? I think that it isn't even a ghost that's been causing all of her stress for the past 29 years of her life; I think it's been you. You're the one that shows up and everything awful seems to happen. When you show up, Romano shows up. When you show up, Melinda almost dies and when you leave everything bad goes away." I laughed in my head; on the outside I was furious. Honestly he knew nothing about his own wife if he thought even for one moment that I could possibly be the one to cause all of this. I mean, I realize that I am a genius but I am not capable of something this big…I would never do something like that to Melinda.

I was about to speak my mind when Eli walked in.

"I came as soon as I could, oh Rick you're back this is great! Hi Jim!" The little peppy assistant of Melinda's walked in.

"God I hate hospitals," He whined, he was holding a bag of chips in one hand and water in the other as he looked around mysteriously. "All I can hear is stupid ghosts!" Jim and I rolled our eyes. I just really did not like Eli, he wasn't a bad guy and all but he was Melinda's new man and clearly not very smart or capable of the work I had done.

"So what happened to Melinda?" Eli asked, too curious for his own good. Jim and I tried to answer at the same time but he made eye contact with me and shot daggers into my eyes.

"She fell. It was Payne's fault." He roared.

"Payne causing pain? I highly doubt he'd be capable of that!" Eli laughed

"It wasn't my fault. Melinda had a vision, it made her fall to the ground and she hit her head, hard. I'm guessing this isn't your typical Poltergeist we got here. This is something way beyond the unnatural."

"Likely story." Jim said to me and turned to Eli "Right when I left the room I hear a loud bang, I come back and this idiot is standing over her while she had blood coming out of her head."

"Jim you are really getting on my nerves and being on my bad side is a really bad place to be trust me I may not look like I can get angry but believe me I can."

"Just because your wife died, doesn't mean you can take over mine." Jim snapped

"Uh…so anyone up for a coffee?" Eli asked, obviously uncomfortable.

"I'll get it myself." I said, and decided it would be best for me if I got up and walked rather than sit here and listen to Jim go on and on about stuff he doesn't even know.

I walked aimlessly through the hallway, fast paced trying to get away from the little hyper puppy dog and the macho pompous ass.

"Professor Payne?" A voice called from behind me.

"The one and only, how may I be of service to you today my dear?" I asked, before turning around to look at the face.

"You're back!" Delia, Melinda's close friend said. She was with her son, Ned who was 15 years old and worshiped Eli.

"Yup it's me, in the flesh, well of course because you can't see ghosts and if it wasn't me and I wasn't in the flesh then you'd look really crazy right now and I would look dead!" I laughed

"Um…yeah. So how is Melinda?"

"I would ask you the same thing, crazy part is I haven't been in to see her, I haven't exactly been allowed near her." I looked away.

"We're going to see her now, do you want to come?" That was the thing about Delia, she never asked questions. I don't know if it's a plus about her or a negative aspect…either way I was happy she didn't jump to conclusions like Jim did.

Delia didn't really believe in ghosts, she was like me when I was younger, she kept a close mind to things like that unable to fathom that there is a world that us humans without the gift cannot see. Ned, on the other hand, loved ghosts and the stories Melinda told he liked being around them, hence where he got the obsession with Jim.

We walked in to Melinda's room and all you could hear was nervous heart beats. Melinda was lying there with a bandage wrapped around the upper part of her head.

"Oh Melinda, what have you done this time?" Delia asked. This wasn't the first time we had all been called down to the hospital to wait for her to recover. Delia once was even in here herself from one of Melinda's ghost; the ghost tried to "short out" Delia from Ned's old turn table and electrocute her.

"She'll pull through, she always does." Ned said.

"You were there when it happened, weren't you?" Delia asked

"Yep she had a…a…." I hated talking about this kind of stuff with Delia

"A vision?" Ned asked, suddenly excited and almost as energetic as Eli had been.

"Ding Ding Ding! You're a smart one, you must have learned from me."

"Oh. Oh! OH! Is Eli here yet? I want to ask him about this one!" He asked

"Eli is just a puppy, not fully trained yet. Why don't you ask me, the dog; the master of the tricks of the trade." I laughed but Delia was already being pulled out of the room by Ned.

"Mel, you'll pull through. Listen to the kid he's got brains even if he'd rather ask the puppy over the dog like me. He'll learn, you can't teach new puppy old tricks." I patted her hand before leaving.


End file.
